Prudent Pet insurance review 2024
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BLUEPRINT
Published 5:00 a.m. UTC Jan. 3, 2024
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Pros
- Extra benefits: The Ultimate pet insurance plan comes with additional perks, like vacation cancellation, pet boarding fees if you’re hospitalized, loss and advertising rewards and coverage for behavioral disorders up to your policy’s limit.
- Referral program: Prudent Pet offers a $15 Amazon gift card if someone you refer gets a quote.
- Multi-pet discount: Save money by insuring multiple pets with Prudent Pet.
- Wellness coverage: You can add a wellness plan to your policy for an additional fee.
Cons
- No direct pay option: Prudent Pet doesn’t provide an option to pay the vet directly; you’ll have to wait for reimbursement of covered expenses.
- No mobile app: Rather than use a mobile app, you’ll file a claim for reimbursement through the Prudent Pet online portal.
- Unlimited annual benefit only available with the Ultimate plan: The only way you can get an unlimited yearly benefit is when you purchase the Ultimate plan, which is the most expensive.
About Prudent Pet insurance
Prudent Pet was founded in 2018 to provide accident-only and accident and illness pet insurance policies for cats and dogs. It announced a partnership with Markel Insurance Company in 2021, which included a new set of benefits for pet owners, including a 24/7 vet helpline, a perks program and fast claims using AI technology.
To get an unlimited annual benefit, pet owners have to pay extra for Prudent Pet’s Ultimate pet insurance plan. Veterinary exam fees and wellness plans are available for an additional cost, and the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, provided you haven’t filed a claim.
Prudent Pet insurance rates
Prudent Pet insurance rates will vary depending on several factors, which include:
- The type of plan you select.
- Your deductible and reimbursement percentage.
- Your pet’s age.
- Your pet’s breed.
- Your pet’s gender.
- Your ZIP code.
Learn more: How much pet insurance costs
Prudent Pet coverage options
The coverage options through Prudent Pet depend on which pet insurance plan you select.
Accident-only plan
The items below are included in Prudent Pet’s accident-only plan:
- Accidents.
- Bite wounds.
- Broken bones.
- Diagnostic testing.
- Emergency care.
- Hospitalizations.
- Injuries to the mouth or teeth.
- Prescribed medications.
- Radiology testing, such as MRIs, X-rays and ultrasounds.
- Swallowed objects.
- Surgical procedures and specialized care.
- Vet prescribed alternative therapies.
Essential plan coverages
If you purchase the essential plan, in addition to the above coverages, it will also include coverage for:
- Behavioral disorders ($250 benefit).
- Birth defects, abnormalities and congenital conditions.
- Cancer, including growths.
- Cancer treatments.
- Conditions of the ear, eye and skin.
- Digestive illnesses.
- Hereditary conditions.
- Hip dysplasia.
- Urinary infections.
Ultimate plan coverages
The Ultimate plan includes everything above, plus:
- Advertising and reward: Up to $500 annual benefit.
- Behavioral disorders: Up to $1,000 annual benefit.
- Boarding kennel if you’re hospitalized: Up to $500 annual benefit.
- Burial or cremation expense (mortality benefit): Up to $1,000 annual benefit.
- Stray or theft loss: Up to $500 annual benefit.
- Vacation cancellation for your pet’s life-saving treatment: Up to $1,000 annual benefit.
Veterinary exam fee add-on
You can pay extra for Prudent Pet to cover consultation or exam fees you incur for diagnosing or treating your pet for a covered accident or illness.
Wellness coverage add-on
Prudent Pet has three options for wellness benefits you can include for an additional cost. Each level provides different dollar amounts and preventive care benefits.
| WELLNESS BENEFIT | LOW | MEDIUM | HIGH |
|---|---|---|---|
Bordetella or Lyme vaccine
| $0
| $0
| $35
|
Deworming
| $25
| $30
| $35
|
Dental cleaning or spaying/neutering
| $0
| $40
| $60
|
DHLPP vaccine
| $25
| $30
| $35
|
Fecal exam
| $25
| $30
| $35
|
Health certificate
| $30
| $40
| $50
|
Heartworm test/FELV screening
| $25
| $30
| $35
|
Microchip
| $25
| $35
| $45
|
Rabies vaccine
| $25
| $30
| $35
|
Wellness blood test
| $0
| $0
| $35
|
Wellness exam (1 per visit, 2 per policy year)
| $30
| $50
| $60
|
What Prudent Pet insurance doesn’t cover
While Prudent Pet provides a good selection of covered health expenses for your pet, it doesn’t cover:
- Aesthetic or cosmetic procedures, like caps, crowns, ear cropping and tail docking.
- Anal gland expression.
- Boarding.
- Burial, funeral or urns, though burial and cremation fees are covered up to a specified limit if you buy the ultimate plan.
- Food, even if prescribed by a vet.
- Grooming.
- Herbs and natural remedies.
- Opposing knee or ligament conditions with pre-existing conditions on the other leg.
- Preexisting conditions.
- Travel expenses and the cost of veterinary house calls.
Prudent Pet waiting period
A waiting period is the time between when you start your policy and when coverage becomes effective. If your pet suffers an injury or illness during the waiting period, it will be considered a preexisting condition when the policy begins.
The waiting period for accidents is five days with Prudent Pet. Insurers like Embrace and Figo offer shorter accident waiting periods of one or two days. But others may have longer accident waiting periods of around 14 days, like Nationwide, Pumpkin and Spot.
Prudent Pet’s 14-day waiting period for sickness is pretty standard, as this is the same for most pet insurance companies.
Prudent Pet has a 6-month waiting period for knee and ligament issues, but you can waive it if you provide a vet examination record certifying your pet does not have a preexisting knee or ligament issue within 30 days of taking out the policy.
Prudent Pet insurance discounts
Prudent Pet offers a 10% discount for insuring more than one pet. Although each pet will receive a separate policy, you can manage them all together in your online account.
You can also receive a $15 gift card from Amazon if you refer someone and they mention your name when getting a free quote for pet insurance.
Have more than one pet? See the best pet insurance companies for multiple pets.
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Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
